Hand car



(No Model.) V 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- A. HIT'T. HAND GAR.

No. 505,830. Patented 0m. 3,1893.

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( Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 2.

A. HITT'.

. HAND GAR. V I No. 505,830. Patented Oct. 3, 1893.

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V 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. A. HITT. HAND GAR.

(No Model.)-

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A. HITT. HAND GAR.

No. 505,830. Patented Oct. 33,1893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ADRIAN I-IITT, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOROF ONE-HALF TO ISRAEL JONES COBIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HAN D-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,830, dated October3, 1893.

Application filed December 30, 1892. Serial No. 456,774- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADRIAN Hrr'r, a citizen of the United States,residing in Jersey City, Hudson county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Cars, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The principal object of my invention is to produce a hand car whichshall be durable, simple in construction, and which may be propelled ata maximum speed with a minimum expenditure of power. Another objectthereof is to attain these results by so arranging the propellingmechanism that the car may be readily transformed into a push car, witha clear platform for the transportation of tools, &c., and as readilyreconverted into a motor car as before.

To this end my invention consists in the novel arrangement andcombination of parts, and in the details of construction herein shownand described, and more specifically referred to in the claims.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a longitudinal elevation,partly in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side of theplatform of the car. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the car viewed fromthe rear. Fig. 4 is a sectional View on a larger scale of the crownwheel (on the line 4-4 Fig. 2) showing the clutch and reversingmechanism. Fig. 5 is a view thereof on the line 5--5 (Fig. 2). Fig. 6 isa cross section of one of the wheels which I prefer to employ. Fig. 7 isa View thereof in elevation. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the handlever socket. Fig. 9 is a broken plan of the upper face of the crownwheel, and Fig. 10 is a plan of the upper face of the ratchet disk. Fig.11 is a view in perspective of the hand-lever socket showing the leverfastening mechanism. 7

Similar reference characters are employed to designate correspondingparts in all the views.

In the drawings A represents the platform of the car supported on asuitable frame B, The axles O, G on which the wheels are mounted arejournaled in suitable bearings attached to the frame of the car. Thedriving wheels are keyed to the axle C, but the other pair may bearranged to rotate on their ,axle for convenience in turning the car,and in rounding curves.

A bevel gear D is keyed or otherwise securely fastened to the axle O.This gear may be placed on either side of the crown wheel E with whichit meshes. The crown wheelE is journaled on a studf depending from theyoke F which is secured to the framing or platform of the car, and saidcrown wheel is connected with the operating mechanism of the car in themanner hereinafter described.

Between the connections from the operating mechanism and the drivinggear, I pref-- erably arrange a clutch device whereby the driving gearmay rotate in one direction independent of the operating mechanism, butwill be locked so as to move with it in the other direction. I alsopreferably make this clutch reversible so that the operating mechanismand driving gear may be locked to move together in either direction ashereinafter explained. I accomplish this result by mounting on the studf, beneath the crown wheel E, a ratchet disk G which with the wheel E isheld in place by the countersunk washer f and screw f In a recess in thecrown wheel E is pivoted a swinging T-shaped pawl e, which is providedwith the teeth e e and the arm a The slotin the wheel E is long enoughto permit the pawl to swing on its pivot so as to bring either one oftheteeth e e below the under face of the wheel. The upper face of thedisk G, which rests against the under surface of wheel E, is providedwith a series of recesses g which coincide with the pawl e, and into oneof which projects one or the other teeth of pawl e (depending on whichside of its pivot it is swung). From the arm 6 of pawl 6 projects a pine which extends out under the loop spring 6 carried on the upper surfaceof the crown wheel E. The ends of the loop spring are secured firmly tothe face of the crown wheel by screws, or in any suitable manner. Thisspring 6 being always under tension, holds the pawl e on whichever sideof its pivot it may be swung. A yielding fingeror trip H is suspendedabove the wheel E in the path of the arm a of pawl c. This finger H iscarried by a pin 72. which ICO projects from the yoke F, and a torsionspring h maintains it in an approximately vertical position so that whenthe arm e of pawl e is on one side of its pivot, the trip will yieldslightly and permit the pawl to pass under it as the wheel E revolves,while if the arm is in the reverse position,the trip will engage the armc and the movement of the wheel will cause the arm to be lifted by thetrip and swung over its center.

A connecting rod I is, at one end, pivotally secured to a stud or poston the disk G, and at the other end is swiveled to the link J, which ispivoted at its upper end in the framing, or to the platform of the car,an opening of sufficient size being made in the platform to receive it.The link J is recessed to form a socket for the lower end of theremovable operating lever K, which is provided with suitable handles 70.A spring clip L, actuated by a spring Z, is secured to the link J, andits lower end is arranged to spring into a notch in the lower end oflever K when it is inserted in the socket J. A rod M secured to the clipprojects through and above the platform of the car, by raising which theend of the clip is carried out of the notch in the lever when the latteris to be removed.

I have illustrated herein an improved form of wheel, which I haveinvented, and which on account of its strength and lightness I prefer touse on my hand car; but it is my intention to file a separateapplication for this wheel, and I hereby reserve such invention for saidapplication. a

The details of the apparatus may be modifiedin many particulars withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

The operation of the simplest form of my improved car, in which theclutch mechanism is not necessarily embodied, will, by referring toFigs. 1 and 2 be understood without a further detailed description. Itwill be observed that by applying power to the lever K, the link J willbe vibrated, and the crown wheel, the gear meshing therewith, the axleand driving wheels will be rotated, the direction of their rotationbeing determined by the position of the mechanism when it is started; orthe proper direction of rotation may be imparted to the parts named bysimply starting the car in the right direction before applying power tothe hand lever. Where the clutch mechanism is employed, the operation isas follows: With the pawl e in the position shown in Fig. 4, if thelever K be vibrated to turn the disk G in the direction shown by thearrow (Figs. 2 and 4) the tooth e of the pawl, carried'by wheel IE, willengage with the side wall of the recess in the disk G into which itprojects, and as said disk is rotated, the wheel E will be carriedaround with it, turning the gear D and driving wheels so as to carry thecar forward, the rear of the car being assumed for the purposes ofillustration, to be the end at which the axle G is journaled. With eachrevolution of the wheel E, the arm 6 of the pawl 6 will pass under thetrip H and lift it sufficiently to permit the passage of the arm underit,the pawl being heldin place by the pressure of the spring 6 on thepin 6 and the trip, under the action of spring 72., will spring back toits place. If now, with the parts in the same position, it is desired tostart the car in the opposite direction, the car is given a movement inthat direction which will cause the crown wheel E to revolve in acontrary direction to that shown by the arrow in Fig. 4, the end of thearm 6 will be caught by the trip H, and as the wheel turns, will swingthe arm over to the other side of the slot, thus reversing the positionof the pawl and throwing its tooth 6 below the under sur face of thewheel. If new the disk G be revolved in the opposite direction to thatshown by the arrows (Figs. 2 and 4) the tooth e will engage with theleft hand side of one of the recesses g and lock the disk G and wheel Eso that they will move together as before, but in the oppositedirection, and the car will be impelled rearwardly.

The advantages which I attain by my improved construction herein shownand described are principally its ready and instant convertibility froma motor to a push car with a clear platform, which is accomplished bysimply removing the handle from its socket; strong and positive actingdriving gear which is easily constructed and kept in repair, and bywhich the power of the operator is applied to the best advantage, and

durable and effective reversing gear, which is of the utmost simplicity,and by which lost motion is reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, by theuse of a crown wheel rotating 'in a horizontal plane, the platform maybe placed lower than where vertical cogs are employed, thus requiringmuch less labor to load and unload heavy articles from the car, and alsodiminishing the tendency to accidents which is involved-in theemploymentof a car with a high platform. Another advantage of thisconstruction is that the diameter of the crown wheel may be much greaterthan that of a vertical cog, thereby permitting a greatly increased rateof speed. By connecting the crown wheel directly to the link whichserves as a socket for the hand lever, the power is applied to the bestpossible advantage, the number of parts, and thereby the cost ofconstruction is decreased and friction reduced to a minimum. By placingthe operating lever near the center of the car, itmay be run in eitherdirection with equal facility, and the power may be evenly distributedon both sides of the lever. By making the op erating lever removable,the car as before stated may be instantly transformed from a section carinto a push car, and in going down grades the lever may be likewiseremoved so as to be entirely out of the way, thus permitting theoperators to rest.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hand car, the combination of a swinging link projecting belowthe platform, a crown wheel mounted below the platform so as to rotatein a plane parallel therewith, a gear on the driving axle of the carmeshing with said crown wheel, aconnection between said crown wheel andthe swinging link and a removable operating lever engaging withsaidswinging link and projecting above the platform, substantially asshown and do scribed.

2. In a hand car, the combination of a swinging link pivoted in theframing or platform of the car and projecting below said platform, acrown wheel mounted below the driving axle of the car so as to rotate ina horizontal plane, a gear on the said driving axle meshing with saidcrown wheel, a connecting rod between said swinging link and said crownwheel and a removable operating lever engaging with said link andprojecting above the platform, substantially as shown and described. 7

3. In a hand car, the combination with the axle and the drivingmechanism, of a crown wheel gearing with the axle, a ratchet diskconnected with the driving mechanism, and a reversible pawl arranged tobe actuated by the movement of the car, and forming an engagementbetween the said wheel and said disk, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. In a hand car, the combination with the axle and the drivingmechanism, of a crown wheel gearing with the axle, a ratchet diskconnected with the driving mechanism, a reversible pawl carried by saidcrown wheel and arranged to form an engagement with said disk, andmechanismfor actuating said pawl, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a hand car, the combination with the axle and the drivingmechanism, of a crown wheel gearing with the axle, a recessed diskconnected with the driving mechanism, a reversible pawl carried by saidcrown wheel so as to engage with the recesses of said disk, andmechanism substantially as described for reversing said pawl when themovement of the car is reversed, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a hand. car, the combination with the axle and thedrivingmechanism, of a crown wheel gearing with the axle, a recesseddisk connected with the driving mechanism, a reversible pawl carried bysaid crown wheel so as to engage with the recesses of said disk, and atrip for reversing said. pawl when the movement of the car is reversed,substantially as shown and described.

7. In a hand car, the combination with the axle and the drivingmechanism, of a crown wheel gearing with the axle, a recessed diskconnected with the driving mechanism, a pawl carried by said disk andarranged to lock the disk and wheel when the latter is moved in onedirection, and a trip for reversing said pawl so as to lock the disk andwheel when the movement of the latter is reversed, substantially asshown and described.

8. In a hand car, the combination of the driving mechanism, axle, gearwheel, crown wheel, disk and reversible pawl, with a yielding trip forreversing the position of the pawl,

substantially as shown and described.

9. In a hand car, the combination of. the driving mechanism, axle, gearwheel, crown wheel, disk, trip and reversible pawl, with a spring forretaining the pawl in position, substantially as shown and described.

10. In a hand car, the combination of a removable operating handle and aspring clip below the platform, provided with a lever extending throughthe patform, for holding the operating handle in its socket,substantially as shown and described.

ADRIAN I-IITT.

- Witnesses:

J OHN LOGAN, GEORGE H. BEISHEIM.

